The Roman Republic and Political Culture
German Scholarship in Translation

Seminal works on the political history and political culture of the Roman Republic, translated into English for the first time.

Amy Russell (Edited by), Hans Beck (Edited by), Kathrin Lüddecke (Translated by)

9781009515108, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 6 February 2025

422 pages
23.5 x 15.9 x 2.8 cm, 0.75 kg

This volume makes available in English translation for the first time a series of hugely influential articles about Roman Republican politics which were all originally published in German. They represent a school of thought that has long been in dialogue with Anglophone research but has not always been accessible to all English-speakers, leaving many listening to only one side of a conversation. The contributions were part of a movement towards viewing Roman Republican politics more holistically, through the lens of political culture. They move beyond cataloguing institutions to treat art, literature, ritual, oratory, and public space as vital components of political life. Three new essays by Amy Russell, Karl-Joachim Hölkeskamp, and Harriet Flower discuss the history of German scholarship on the Republic and its interactions with Anglophone research, and new introductions to each piece by Hans Beck allow readers to situate the work in its intellectual context.

Part I. Original Essays: 1. Translating Roman Republican political culture Amy Russell
2. Politics and power in the Roman Republic: then and now, in Old Europe and the Brave New Anglophone World Karl-Joachim Hölkeskamp
3. Perspectives from Germany Harriet Flower
Part II. Translations: 4. Benevolence and freedom: nstitutionalising the relations between upper and lower classes in the Roman Republic Martin Jehne
5. Capitol, comitium and forum: public spaces, sacred topography and landscapes of memory Karl-Joachim Hölkeskamp
6. Face to face with the ancestors: political monuments and public memory in Republican Rome Tonio Hölscher
7. Rituals of integration in the Roman Republic: on the integrative force of the popular assemblies Martin Jehne
8. The message of the medium: historiography's potential to create meaning in the context of Roman history culture during the Republic Uwe Walter
9. The memoria of the gentes as the backbone of collective memory in Republican Rome Wolfgang Blösel
10. The ritual grammar of institutionalised politics Egon Flaig
11. Aristocratic roles and the crisis of the Roman Republic Hans Beck
12. Monuments and consensus: the precarious equilibrium of merit and power Tonio Hölscher
13. Publicity or participation? The role of the contiones in the middle and late Roman Republic Claudia Tiersch.

Subject Areas: Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]